News that professional and collegiate football stars who committed suicide also suffered some levels of dementia-like brain deterioration has only heightened the ongoing discussion over whether helmets can help prevent concussions.

The answer, according to researchers at Virginia Tech, is a qualified yes. Working with researchers at Wake Forest University, the team collected data on more than a million hits during practices and games to come to some conclusions about what kinds of hits cause concussions and how players can equip themselves to lessen their risk.

The scientists found that the Riddell Revolution Speed checked out as the helmet that protected players the best. Among the helmets considered "very good" were Riddell's Revolution and Revolution IQ; the Schutt ION 4D and DNA Pro Plus; and the Xenith X1. One helmet rated no stars, the Adams A2000 Pro Elite.

There is no helmet that can prevent concussions. Concussions are caused when the brain is jolted against the skull in a collision; it's bound to happen in a high-impact sport such as football. However, a helmet's construction, fitting and materials obviously can make a difference.

In earlier work, other researchers found that they could make a head largely invulnerable -- but it would take a huge, oversized helmet fastened to a collar. (Think astronaut meets NASCAR.) Then, the concern was that players feeling invulnerable would launch themselves at their opponents, causing far more injuries than already occur to knees and spines.

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ABOUT THE WRITERS

TIM DARRAGH has been reporting and editing the news for 30 years, most of it at The Morning Call. For much of that time, he's been doing award-winning investigative and in-depth reporting projects. Tim created the three-year-long Change of Heart project, and wrote a series on the state's fractured food inspection system that led to widespread improvements in food safety. Meantime, that novice jogger you see plodding along the streets around Bethlehem Township? That would be Tim.